Washington (CNN) - When the president of the United States invites a world leader into the Oval Office it elevates the meeting and extends the warmest of embraces to his visitor. That’s why Thursday’s meeting with President Ali Bongo of the West Central African nation of Gabon is raising eyebrows.

The oil rich nation of an estimated 1.5 million people has been ruled by the Bongo family for decades, but there have long been allegations of corruption.

Washington (CNN)- Most Americans are cynical about the effect of money on politics in the U.S., and that cynicism is significantly higher than it was in the 1990s, according to a new national poll.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Thursday indicates that 86 percent of the public thinks elected officials in the nation's capital are mostly influenced by the pressure they receive from campaign contributors.

Washington (CNN) - In the wake of Osama bin Laden's death, a plurality of Americans believe for the first time that the U.S. is winning the war in Afghanistan, and support for withdrawing U.S. troops from that country has risen significantly over the past month, according to a new national poll.

Washington (CNN) - Sen. Patrick Leahy added his voice Thursday to calls for embattled Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign from his seat in the House.

Leahy is the most senior Democrat to date to call for Weiner's resignation. The Vermont Senator ranks second in seniority in the Senate. He joins a growing list of Democrats who have called for their colleague to step down over his involvement in a "sexting" scandal.

(CNN) – Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch would not support Sarah Palin for president, but Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty appeals to him.

"He's not the jazziest guy in town and he's not the most exciting, but if you look at what he says, his vision for America … the guy makes sense," Welch said Wednesday on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight."FULL POST

(CNN) - The Democratic National Committee "welcomed" Mitt Romney to Michigan Thursday with a new video, ahead of a trip to his birth state.

The minute-long web spot features video of the Republican presidential candidate calling for General Motors and Chrysler to file for bankruptcy at the height of the auto crisis. In the national hub of the industry, Democrats have sought to tie Romney to the comments and a similar op-ed he wrote in 2008.FULL POST